Independent film producers, directors and actors within the US and abroad are invited to participate in engaging panel discussions and Q&A sessions after the screenings.

Each year the festival greets more than 2,000 movie aficionados and shows about fifty films from all over the world with an impressive lineup of premieres.

The Arlington International Film Festival also includes a year-round events such as poster contest competitions (the AIFF's logo was designed by Marley Jurgensmeyer, winner of the 2012 poster contest competition), pre-festival screenings and art exhibitions with local artists and performances by musicians, singers and dancers.

The number of films submissions continues to increase with a strong participation of filmmakers as well as a growing audience.

For its 10th anniversary, Arlington Int’l Film Festival, like many others, was hit by the devastating COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

In January 2014, in conjunction with the Visual Art Department of the Arlington High School, AIFF brought artist Winfred Rembert[11][12] for a 5-day residency.

The screenings include feature length and short films in narrative, documentary and animation categories.

Her previous documentary Awaken the Dragon for cancer survivors was screened as a finalist of HUA International Short Film festival in Los Angeles, London, Tokyo and China.